India after a long gap of over six months will be in action in a Test match. The Indians will host New Zealand in a two match Test series, starting from Aug. 23. Indian team will be pleased to be playing against New Zealand after their embarrassing defeats against England and Australia.

Indians are coming on the back of eight straight losses and will be confident to get back to winning ways against the eighth rank New Zealand team. India in a span of one year got down to number fifth in the Test rankings and will be looking to climb up the ladder once again.

India after almost 16 years will play without their two most prolific run-scorers, Rahul Dravid and VVS
Laxman. Both players announced their retirement and Indian team will have three young payers in that middle-order.

New Zealand will know that they have tough task ahead of themselves. They lost against West Indies and that would have hurt them and now they are up against India. Ross Taylor said that he is happy that his bowlers will get a chance to some of the inexperienced Indian batsmen and that his team should not be taken lightly.

Let’s have a look at some of the players who can make the difference for their respective sides.

India:

Sachin Tendulkar: He will be relieved to have crossed the 100th century mark and will be looking to quickly add some more tons to the list. He will look to kick-start the season with a good score, Sachin will know that there will be a lot of pressure on him after the retirement of both Dravid and Laxman.

Virender Sehwag: His recent form has been very bad. Sehwag failed miserably in both England and Australia and will be itching to have a go against the week Kiwi attack. This series could be very important for Sehwag because he desperately need a big innings.

MS Dhoni: He failed both as a captain and as a player in the England and the Australia series. Dhoni will be pleased to be playing cricket in India as his record on home soil as a captain is brilliant. There is doubt over his Test captaincy and he will be looking to start off with a win.

Zaheer Khan: He is making a comeback into the Test squad and will be looking to pick some wickets. Zaheer has had a lot of problems with injuries and it will be a real test of his fitness. India need Zaheer to be bowling well as they do not have much pace bowling options.

New Zealand:

Ross Taylor: The captain of the New Zealand team will have to lead from the front if the Black Caps want to make an impression against India. Taylor is the best batsman in the current New Zealand he is probably best equipped to tackle the Indian condition.

Martin Guptill: Guptill has played some good innings against India in the past and he will be looking to do the same in this series. He had a poor West Indies Test series, but bounced back to play some good knocks in the one-dayers.

Chris Martin: He is the most experienced New Zealand bowler in the absence of Daniel Vettori and will lead the pack. He bowled brilliantly the last time New Zealand visited India and his captain will expect the same from this tall fast-bowler.

Tim Southee: He was very good against the West Indies and was particularly lethal against Chris Gayle. He has the ability to swing the new ball both ways. Southee is also very effective with the bat.

By Indian Sports News Network